Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT) Cut to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Investment analysts at Wall Street Zen downgraded Eagle Bancorp Montana from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating.
• The bank reported earnings of $0.41 EPS for the last quarter, matching analysts' expectations and generating revenue of $23.51 million, exceeding expectations.
• Hedge funds significantly increased their positions in Eagle Bancorp Montana, with Jones Financial Companies increasing its stake by 355.3% in the first quarter.

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Sunday.

Eagle Bancorp Montana Price Performance

NASDAQ:EBMT traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $15.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 46,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 45,057. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $16.65 and a 200-day moving average of $16.69. The company has a market capitalization of $126.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.92 and a beta of 0.39. Eagle Bancorp Montana has a fifty-two week low of $12.61 and a fifty-two week high of $18.49.

Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The bank reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.41. Eagle Bancorp Montana had a return on equity of 7.14% and a net margin of 10.09%. The business had revenue of $23.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.34 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Eagle Bancorp Montana will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Bancorp Montana Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.145 per share. This represents a $0.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a boost from Eagle Bancorp Montana's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. Eagle Bancorp Montana's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eagle Bancorp Montana

In related news, Director Kenneth M. Walsh sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.75, for a total transaction of $177,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 116,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,059,585.75. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Bancorp Montana

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allied Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana in the second quarter valued at $530,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Bancorp Montana by 90.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 68,055 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 32,286 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Eagle Bancorp Montana by 56.0% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,241 shares of the bank's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,241 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Eagle Bancorp Montana by 127.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 31,256 shares of the bank's stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 17,509 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Eagle Bancorp Montana by 40.6% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 38,802 shares of the bank's stock valued at $648,000 after buying an additional 11,201 shares during the period. 35.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eagle Bancorp Montana Company Profile

Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Opportunity Bank of Montana that provides various retail banking products and services to small businesses and individuals in Montana. It accepts various deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit accounts.